In a survey carried out to understand the current and future impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on digital advertising, 80% of the respondents agreed with the statement that ‘AI will be the next industrial revolution’, with the potential to deliver instrumental change in the digital advertising.

The report carried out by Xaxis in association with IAB Europe identified that decision makers from all parts of the industry recognise the significant value AI can bring to achieve results across the digital advertising ecosystem.

The survey sought the views of over 1,000 decision makers across the industry including advertisers, agencies, publishers, and intermediaries.

While respondents agreed that AI will deliver instrumental change, there was work to do in terms of reliability and trust with key concerns for the future of AI as relying less on human control (47%) and gaining trustworthy insights (55%).

When asked about how AI has impacted on business objectives, nearly 50% of those surveyed felt AI improved productivity and increased competitive advantage, and almost 80% of respondents said they have a good understanding of AI.

As AI continues to make an impact the digital advertising industry, there have been questions around whether or not the developments are driving real change or claims to be just being a ‘buzzword’.

However, more businesses are embracing the technology to their objectives with recent research suggesting that firms are prioritising cost and ROI when implementing AI technology.

"The most powerful, and largely unfulfilled potential of AI lies in the bigger picture, in its ability to optimise towards business outcomes rather than simple metrics,” commented John Wittesaele, president EMEA at Xaxis.

Joele Forrester

Joele is the latest recruit for the editorial team at PerformanceIN, and reports on the latest day-to-day news updates from the world of digital marketing, while also carrying out social media promotion, live reporting of events, writing feature articles and interviewing key industry players and stakeholders.

Joele enjoys living in Bristol and often returns to her Devon roots to enjoy the great outdoors. After graduating with a publishing and creative writing degree, Joele began her career in lifestyle publishing. She is now looking to hone her digital publishing and marketing skills at PerformanceIN.